Sterling and Currency - Edge Knockshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/blog-categories/edge-knocks
enIs Australia's $100 Note Going To Go the Same Way as the Five Cent Coin?https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/australias-100-note-going-go-same-way-five-cent-coin
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Discussion of Australia's circulating currency set mainstream media alight for the third time in 2016 when a UBS analyst in mid November suggested that "<a href="http://www.afr.com/markets/australia-should-follow-india-and-scrap-big-bank-notes-ubs-says-20161114-gsov4q">Australia should follow India’s lead and scrap its biggest bank notes</a>.” This opinion was shared across a wide range of mainstream media outlets, and stimulated some discussion on a range of topics - the merits of keeping large denominations in circulation, whether it was a criminal act to pay in cash, <a href="http://blog.apca.com.au/high-value-banknotes-really-beds-older-australians/">just how much money Australia’s older citizens had stashed under their mattresses</a>, and whether criminals would go straight if large denomination banknotes were taken away from them.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/R616_1.jpg" alt="" title="" width="" height="" border="0" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>
<p>This opinion was shared hot on the heels of a decision made by the Prime Minister of India to <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/demonetization.asp"><em>demonetize</em></a> the two largest denomination notes circulating in that country - the 500 and 1000 rupee notes. PM Modi’s decision on November 8th to remove the legal tender status of both of India’s largest banknotes within hours of his announcement. The reason this was such a shock was because at the moment Modi banned them, <a href="http://time.com/4583100/india-cash-rupee-500-1000-ban-modi-economy/">the total value of those two bills accounted for roughly 86% of all of the cash in circulation</a> in India. </p>
<p> The Indian demonetisation has been carried out in stages - no longer legal tender from midnight on November 8th, they could be used to pay certain utilities bills for a period of time, and could also be deposited into bank accounts until November 24th, and then at the Central Bank until March.</p>
<p>For many Indians, many of whom live in poverty and or in rural areas, a bank account simply isn’t a luxury they’ve entertained, so whatever meagre wealth they might have saved was effectively wiped out.</p>
<p>The idea of large denomination notes being removed from circulation was raised again in mid December, when <a href="http://kmo.ministers.treasury.gov.au/media-release/113-2016/">Kelly O’Dwyer, the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, announced that</a> the Commonwealth Government has formed "The Black Economy Taskforce”, with the intent of cracking down on <em>“...people who operate entirely outside the tax system or who are known to tax authorities but deliberately misreport their tax (and superannuation) obligations. The black economy can also include those engaged in organised crime, including those who engage in the production and sale of prohibited goods."</em></p>
<p>The press conference that announced the Taskforce explained that it would be carefully looking at “... successful measures that have been employed overseas.” A few of the measures referred to were the cash controls recently instituted in France, and <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2016/html/pr160504.en.html">the de-monetization of high denomination notes such as the 500 Euro note</a>. The current cash controls in France (in place since September 2016) mean that "<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-security-financing-idUSKBN0ME14720150318">people who live in France will not be allowed to make payments of more than 1,000 euros ($1,060) in cash</a>.” Minister O’Dwyer didn’t actually say that the Government was considering removing the $100 note from circulation but she also pointedly said that the Taskforce wouldn’t rule it out.</p>
<p>It seems the reality of even the idea of the $100 note being withdrawn from circulation was enough to get people talking - not only were quotes from the Minister’s press conference and subsequent media interviews parlayed across mainstream media, they were also picked up on social media and <a href="http://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2016/12/14/end-of-100-note/">some of the more sensational “new” news websites</a> that have come onto the scene in recent years.</p>
<p>The "Black Economy Taskforce” will apparently release an interim report in March 2017, and will present it’s final report in October 2017, so there’s nothing cast in stone yet. That hasn’t stopped <a href="http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-14/war-cash-escalates-australia-proposes-ban-100-bill-no-cash-within-10-years">libertarians</a>, <a href="http://www.infowars.com/australian-government-floats-100-note-removal/">conspiracy theorists</a> and <a href="https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/taxes/australia-looking-into-cancelling-100-bill/">precious metal bugs</a> the world over as taking this turn of events as firm evidence of “The War On Cash”. Because if you’re not aware, there is apparently a war on cash unfolding around the world as we speak. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.kennethrogoff.com">Harvard University Economics Professor Kenneth Rogoff</a> actually published a book in September titled "The Curse of Cash”. Rogoff is the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, so is definitely someone whose idea on the subject is considered by economists and central bankers the world over. Interestingly, Rogoff not only states that the majority of $100 bills in the US are circulating through the underground economy, but also that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-07/harvard-economist-kenneth-rogoff-is-trying-to-kill-cash">“...suppressing cash would make it easier for the Federal Reserve and other central banks to boost economic growth by pushing interest rates into negative territory."</a></p>
<p>Negative interest rates would seem to be a rather odd concept to the average mortgage owner - it is the strange world where you pay to keep money in the bank and get paid to borrow it. The theory is that negative rates will induce people to save less and spend more, which will revive growth. Savers won't tolerate negative interest rates on their savings as long as cash is an alternative.” Rogoff’s theory is that if you remove cash as an alternative store of value, it then becomes far easier to force the average person to keep the economy ticking over by spending their money rather than saving it.</p>
<p>I don’t think the average Australian would have any idea such measures as strict cash controls and negative interest rates might even be entertained by the Commonwealth Government, however if social media can be set alight by the mooted demise of the five cent coin or the colour of our new $5 note, these ideas will surely get people talking.</p>
<p>In the middle of the extreme views put forward by <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2016/03/01/the-great-cash-grab/#21b1fb8f6dc4">the “big government” advocates</a>and the rabid libertarians, are several voices of reason - from within the banking and payments industries no less. Lance Blockley is the MD of bank consultant RFi, which tracks cash usage. He states that Australia hasn't yet had the push from banks, business and government to cut cash. "So I think cash is going to be around for decades yet.” MasterCard Australian country manager Andrew Cartwright has also stated that any move to demonetise Australia’s currency notes won’t happen any time soon: "How long is this journey? <a href="http://www.afr.com/technology/cash-is-not-dead-yet--but-it-will-be-eventually-20160209-gmp93r#ixzz4TNUHttMW">I think we are talking decades, not within the next 10 years</a>. I think it is just too big a behavioural shift to happen in a decade.”</p>
<p>I guess we’ll learn whether any of these changes come to pass within the next 12 months, how they affect business generally and the numismatic collectibles market specifically will be interesting to see. Now could well be a great time to put together a set of five cent coins and a set of $100 notes, just in case.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Thu, 22 Dec 2016 10:01:18 +0000andrew7996 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/australias-100-note-going-go-same-way-five-cent-coin#commentsCounterfeit Detection 101 - How to Spot A Spark-Erosion Counterfeithttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/counterfeit-detection-101-how-spot-spark-erosion-counterfeit
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>One of the most intriguing books on numismatics I've read in recent years was <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=AMdoy1Td8IAC&amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">"Numismatic Forgery"</a>, by Charles Larson.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.zyruspress.com/ProductImages/0974237124.jpg" alt="" align="left" hspace="10" vspace="10" />Although it's been a while since I read it, I recall being not so much frightened, but shocked and taken aback at just how far numismatic forgers are prepared to go in order to make the objects of their desire. In the book, Mr Larson <em>"takes the reader into the clandestine workshop of the criminal forger, and explains the methods and techniques that every serious coin collectors should know about before they purchase a rare or expensive coin."</em></p>
<p>You might be curious as to how he was able to come by this information, well it turns out that our mate Charles was a prison warden, and one of his charges was a gent widely regarded as a "master" forger. He built up a body of knowledge over a period of years, the results of which are published in this book.</p>
<p><strong>If you have any kind of serious interest in rare coins, you should get yourself a copy of this book</strong> - no arguments, just do it. I don't get a commission from selling it, and you can get it from either Amazon or the publisher directly.</p>
<p>It's a bit hard to share information in a book on a blog, but <a href="http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?NewsletterNewsArticleID=669">a recent post on the NGC website</a> does explain a little about (just!) one of the methods used to counterfeit coins - the s<span id="ctl00_MainContent_uxViewArticle">park-erosion method.</span></p>
<p><span id="ctl00_MainContent_uxViewArticle"><a href="http://www.collectors-society.com/usercontent/images/article_images/1858FE_CFT_20091109o.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="/sites/default/files/external_images/9bdb60c0.jpg" alt="" align="left" hspace="10" vspace="10" /></a>Although this method of counterfeiting is somewhat out-dated (and thus likely to appear on any potential purchases), I believe that it is well worth looking over the images on the NGC page just in case you ever happen to come across anything in future.</span> It might not appear on an Australian coin (they are pretty crude), but you never know what your family and friends may come across in the years to come.</p>
<p><span id="ctl00_MainContent_uxViewArticle">The article also describes the process (very interesting in itself I have to say), as well as tips on exactly what to look for.</span></p>
<p><span id="ctl00_MainContent_uxViewArticle">Well worth visiting!<br /></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Fri, 13 Aug 2010 03:31:00 +0000andrew2106 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/counterfeit-detection-101-how-spot-spark-erosion-counterfeit#commentsThis Looks Pretty Awesome - How to Determine if a Coin is Counterfeit Using Your Computer Mousehttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/looks-pretty-awesome-how-determine-if-coin-counterfeit-using-your-computer-mouse
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>I don't know if you keep up with the latest geek trends, but news has come to light recently of a project that some University scientists in Spain have been working on whereby a standard computer mouse can be used to detect counterfeit coins.</p>
<p><img hspace="10" vspace="10" alt="" src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/11/1258378134_0.jpg" />According to <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/11/detecting-false-coins-with-mouse-sensors/">an article on gizmodo.com</a>, <em>"The system rotates the coin, sampling its surface using the 30 x 30</em> [in your mouse] <em>pixel resolution optical sensor. Then it compares it to a stored model, giving you the nay or the yay with more accuracy than anyone, or about the same accuracy as an expert."</em></p>
<p>In the words of one of the authors: <em>"We have implemented a system of detection of false currencies of two Euros by means of the comparison of landlords obtained with a mouse sensor óptico."</em> (<a href="http://babelfish.yahoo.com/">Translation capably provided by Alta Vista's Babel Fish</a>).</p>
<p>Just whether that's the case remains to be seen, as well as the fact as to whether it's as reliable as a detection method for valuable items.</p>
<p>I doubt the specifications of this setup will be made widely known, and even if they are I don't think the method would ever become more than a first-step check for counterfeit detection.</p>
<p>Having said that, I can see a lot of alternative uses for the system within numismatics - discovery of die varieties being one!</p>
<p>Imagine being able to feed a batch of pennies of one date into this puppy, and then having them say yes or no to a particular variety being detected?</p>
<p>Does anyone know how this could be jerry-rigged to work? <strong>UDATE (23/11/09): </strong>One of our readers has generously provided the following translation <a href="http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/11/16/ciencia/1258378134.html">from the original article in Spanish</a>: (with thanks to Yahya)<em><br /></em></p>
<p><em>"The sensor that a computer optical mouse incorporates is usually used to guide the cursor displacement, but it can also be used as a detector of fake coins. This is demonstrated by a prototype developed by computer science engineers of the University of Lleida (UdL), whose details can be freely consulted in the scientific magazine Sensors.<br />
<br />
“We have implemented a system of fake two-euro coin detection, by comparing patterns obtained with an optical mouse sensor," explains Marcel Tresanchez, one of the authors of the work. According to the European Commission, 79% of the discovered fake coins in Europe in 2008 were of two euros.<br />
<br />
To detect the fakes, the coin is placed in a positioning device and rotated. The sensor, located a few millimeters away, is used to capture images of the common face that all two-euro coins have. (They all have a map of Europe on one face, and a specific design for each country on the other.) Finally, the images are compared with reference ones obtained from valid coins, by means of an algorithm that the Catalan team has also developed.<br />
“The same operation could be made with a webcam, for example, but the advantage of these sensors is their small size, low cost and such a narrow angle of view that it lets us capture the coins' relief very simply", Tresanchez emphasizes.</em></p>
<p>The investigator clarifies that not just any optical mouse sensor will do, since it must capture realtime images, with a minimum resolution of 15x15 pixels – the equipment used has one of 30x30 pixels. In addition, he advises using a sensor based on LED or infrared, not laser, technology, since those provide too detailed images.</p>
<p>The results of the study show that this system, as a complement to forgery detection techniques, already allows better detection of fake coins than a human could do, and at a level similar to that of a trained expert. The authors have also applied the same method to design an “encoder” or rotatory coder, using an optical mouse sensor to compute angular displacement from an axis." </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:58:10 +0000andrew2076 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/looks-pretty-awesome-how-determine-if-coin-counterfeit-using-your-computer-mouse#commentsNumismatic Horror Movie - IOUSAhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/numismatic-horror-movie-iousa
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>OK, what follows is not necessarily a numismatic horror movie, but it's one that I think anyone that trades in coins or notes will have an interest in seeing - it's <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/iousa-movie-summary-and-review-3306290">a feature length documentary on the current economic "crisis" entitled IOUSA.</a></p>
<p>Since most of us trade coins and notes with at least some reference to investment / wealth creation, and the values of these coins and notes are determined in a big way by the activity in the broader economy, getting a better understanding (or at least a different perspective) on the current economic situation will better inform our trading decisions.</p>
<p>Sure, the situation here in Australia is not the same as in the US, and although we're doing better than they are at the moment, I don't see any harm at all in learning more about what's going on in the largest economy in the world, particularly when that economy has exported financial instruments and practices the world over!</p>
<p>Will watching this move make much of an impact on how you build or dispose of your collection? I guess that depends on how you view things already, but if you weren't already aware that <strong>every</strong> dollar of cash we have is precious in the current economic environment, it might just make you sharpen your pencil a bit.</p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/15696985">PS - try not to watch this late at night, you may have difficulty getting to sleep!</a></p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:56:15 +0000andrew2039 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/numismatic-horror-movie-iousa#commentsA novel way of keeping track of coin valueshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/novel-way-keeping-track-coin-values
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Every now and then, something happens in the daily life of this coin dealer that really makes me stop. Late yesterday afternoon I got a call from a young lass that had inherited some coins from her father and wanted to know if I could appraise them for her.</p>
<p> No problems I say, make sure you're here before 5pm and you'll get an honest appraisal free of charge and without obligation. Now it turned out that Daddy dearest was more of an accumulator than a collector - we're talking small plastic bags with heavily circulated pennies from the 1920's right though to the 1960's, a few florins from the same period, as well as some English copper - basically pretty standard fare that people have in their cupboards right around the country.</p>
<p> Although the gentleman concerned had obviously done some cursory research into the value of old Aussie coins, he hadn't learned the distinction between proof, Uncirculated or worn flat, so his little plastic bags had pieces of paper stapled to them with comments such as "Proof 1934 Penny - $30,000" etc etc.</p>
<p> Now it isn't entirely unheard of for people to do this, and this isn't what made me laugh or do a double take. It was when I got to the bag that included the 1925 penny that I had to pause for a moment. Not only did it have the details written on the outside of the bag, but the proud owner of the 1925 penny had actually <strong>written the proof value ON THE COIN IN PERMANENT MARKER</strong>! He obviously didn't want his descendants to miss the fact that this truly was a scarce coin, but did he really have to go that far?</p>
<p> Fortunately the coin was "only" graded about VF condition, so it was worth "only" $200 - $300 retail, and the damage wasn't significant. The lass also though it was pretty funny, and we ended up getting the writing off with a bit of acetone and a cotton bud.</p>
<p> All's well that ends well - she now has a clear idea of what her accumulation is worth and has a half decent 1925 penny that is now at least marketable. So for God's sake, if you do need to leave instructions to your descendants about how much your collection is worth or what to do with it in the event of your untimely demise, do yourself a favour and don't write on the actual coins!</p>
<p> Man, I've never come across that before, I should've taken a picture!</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:41:43 +0000andrew2026 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/novel-way-keeping-track-coin-values#commentsRegulation in the Australian Art Industry - Sound Familiar?https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/regulation-australian-art-industry-sound-familiar
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>The glossy Australian Financial Review Magazine last week included an in-depth article on a key figure in Australia's art industry, and was preceded by several smaller articles where calls for regulation in the art industry were called for.</p>
<p>I won't profess for one moment to knowing the first thing about art or the Australian art market, however I have to say I wasn't overly shocked to read of some of the events reported in the story - similarly eyebrow-raising events have been spoken of in the Australian numismatic market. All of these events raise questions about how auctioneers should conduct themselves leading into and during a sale, and how bidders can expect to be informed and treated by those they're doing business with.</p>
<p>I don't see any additional regulation being imposed on either the art or numismatic markets any time soon, which poses the question - how should buyers and sellers operate in an environment where others may not necessarily have their best interest uppermost in their priorities? I'd humbly suggest that the way one ensures they aren't taken advantage of by a convenient omission of provenance in a catalogue or otherwise is to learn the market backwards for the item/s they're interested in. Pre-sale posturing by other parties then become nothing more than a mildly interesting parlour game.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:38:52 +0000andrew2020 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/regulation-australian-art-industry-sound-familiar#commentsAND YOU RECKON YOUR COLLECTION IS ESOTERIChttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/and-you-reckon-your-collection-esoteric
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Just when I thought I'd seen it all, along comes this website: <a href="http://www.coincollectingboards.com/">coincollectingboards.com</a>. Yes, visit that site and you can learn that <strong><em>"One of the really fun features of old coin boards is that many have the names of the vendors who sold them rubber stamped on their backs. See how many names you know!"</em></strong></p>
<p> Not only does this dealer specialize solely in what appears to be old press-in coin albums, he's written a book about them! And you thought your collection of Charles II pattern farthings was esoteric!</p>
<p> Apparently, <em><strong>"With 64 pages in full color, this book is a sheer delight and belongs on every collector's coffee table." </strong></em>And furthermore, <em><strong>"</strong><strong>Fully understanding and appreciating vintage coin boards requires a lot of photos, both overall views and details. This book has everything you'll need to get a handle on the subject and become your own expert."</strong></em></p>
<p>I have heard of people that collect fruit stickers <a href="http://users.belgacom.net/fruit.stickers/">(yes, there are websites about them as well)</a>, but the very existence of this site re-defines for me the sheer scope of things that people can collect!</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:22:56 +0000andrew2009 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/and-you-reckon-your-collection-esoteric#commentsHow Do You Move $100 Million In Coins in Daylight Through NY? Quietly, and With Heavy Weaponshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/how-do-you-move-100-million-coins-daylight-through-ny-quietly-and-heavy-weapons
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>News this week in the world of rare coins &amp; notes is the relocation of the <a href="https://www.money.org/">ANA (American Numismatic Association)</a> from one part of New York to another.</p>
<p>The society apaprently bought a building in NY in 1998 for US$6.5 million, and reopened its doors to scholars in 2004. Significant renovations were required, and their cost proved too great for an exhibition space to be provided as well, hence the decision to relocate.</p>
<p>The value of the collection is of course priceless (many items are irreplacable), however the figure of US$100,000,000 has been mentioned. The interesting thing about the story is that <strong>it wasn't done via armoured cars</strong>, but in standard moving vans!</p>
<p><em>“The idea was to make this as inconspicuous as possible,” said Ute Wartenberg Kagan, executive director of the American Numismatic Society. “It had to resemble a totally ordinary office move.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<div align="left">
<p>Before you think Mr Kagan and his advisors have completely lost their marbles, keep this quote in mind - from one of the police officers seconded to supervising the move:</p>
<p><em>“It’s our first coin collection,” said a New York police detective, Gregory Welch, of Emergency Service Unit Truck One, which shadowed the move with hidden <strong>heavy</strong> weapons “just in case,” along with patrol cars from the First Precinct. He said his unit was accustomed to protecting Federal Reserve gold transfers and gem shipments in the Midtown diamond district.</em></p>
<p><strong>Heavy</strong> weapons - now that's what I'm talkin' about! I can just picture a bazooka going off when a few Italian movers are arguing with a Sudanese taxi driver about getting the hell out of their way - a scene right out of the popular <em>Die Hard</em> movie series. Or a few Eastern European terrorists throwing gas cannisters when an aged numismatic librarian is just about to put a priceless antiquity into it's new home.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/nyregion/16coins.html?_r=2&amp;oref=slogin&amp;ref=nyregion&amp;pagewanted=all">The full story can be read on the excellent NY Times website here</a>, strangely enough the journo that covered the story didn't raise the Bruce WIllis analogy.</p>
<p>In the words of Tony Soprano - <em>fuhgettaboutit!</em></p>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:02:31 +0000andrew2018 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/how-do-you-move-100-million-coins-daylight-through-ny-quietly-and-heavy-weapons#commentsA Great Companion Product to a Commemorative Coin - A Water Cannon or a Detention Bus!?!?!?https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/great-companion-product-commemorative-coin-water-cannon-or-detention-bus
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>
Way back a few months ago when the APEC summit was being held in Sydney (described by one well-respected geopolitical analyst as being a fairly irrelevant pause at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia"), the Chaser team wasn't the only group to lampoon the activities of Howard, Bush et al.
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<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/heckler/a-city-in-lockdown-means-no-bang-for-your-buck/2007/09/05/1188783319576.html">This newspaper article</a>, written presumably by an author who was so pi**ed off with the very notion of the APEC Summit, decided to discuss the raison d'etre of the summit by way of the APEC dollar. Whatever your opinion of globalization, APEC or Australia's relationship to the United States, any collector would have to find it intriguing that a (presumably) non-collector would use numismatics to convey their ideas - you could probably count similar events in the past decade on one hand.
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:41:41 +0000andrew1963 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/great-companion-product-commemorative-coin-water-cannon-or-detention-bus#commentsFun and Games In New Zealandhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/fun-and-games-new-zealand
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>
Any time a government makes a change to a country's circulating<br />
currency, it really gets the collector market going. Take a look at the<br />
times when this has happened in Australia: the change to decimal<br />
currency in 1966; the introduction of the $1 &amp; $2 coins (1984 &amp;<br />
1988); the removal of 1¢ &amp; 2¢ pieces (1991); the introduction of<br />
polymer banknotes (1988 to 1996), the list goes on. Each one of these<br />
events had an impact on the market for coins &amp; notes in Australia,<br />
pushing it upward each time.
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The <a href="http://twinflame.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/220">RBNZ's recent decision to change the size of a range of New Zealand's circulating coinage</a> has apparently resulted in "collectors" going mad <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&amp;ObjectID=10402473">buying "rare" decimal coins for big money</a>. If you take a look at activity on the NZ auction site <a href="http://www.trademe.co.nz/Antiques-collectables/Coins/New-Zealand-Decimal/mcat-0187-4353-4355-.htm">trademe</a><br />
though, most of the sales (and attempted sales) of ordinary coins for<br />
what seem to be massive prices are by non-collectors or novice<br />
collectors.
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Nothing unusual here (we see it on eBay Australia every day of the<br />
week for ordinary pre decimal notes etc), but it will be interesting to<br />
see if the NZ market reacts over the long term to this change, and if<br />
so which coins are the best ones to put away.
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-category-news-views field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog-categories/edge-knocks">Edge Knocks</a></div></div></div>Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:21:11 +0000andrew1961 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/articles/fun-and-games-new-zealand#comments